THE REVIVAL: DJEMBE IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM MARKS THE ASASE YAA AFRICAN AMERICAN DANCE THEATER’S PREMIERE IN WAIPAHU

WAIPAHU, HI, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation will present The Revival: Djembe in the New Millennium, a production featuring its Bessie Award–winning Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater, November 6, 2026, at the Filcom Center at 7:30 p.m. The engagement marks their debut performance in Hawaii, and the culmination of the African American Dance Theater’s first national concert tour since 2017 commemorating its 25th Anniversary celebration.

The Oahu-based Sewa Fare African Dance & Drum Company, a community arts group that has kept West African music, drumming, and dance culture alive across the islands for over 20 years, will serve as the opening act for The Revival performance. Sewa Fare is also a co-presenter of the event with Asase Yaa. The concert is an Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation Production and its Executive Director, K. Osei Williams, is also its Executive Producer.

“We are excited to be making our debut performance in Hawaii,” said Williams. “After a decade of absence from touring, bringing our work back to audiences across the country has been incredibly fulfilling to our ensemble. This culminating performance will certainly be a treasured and memorable highlight of our celebratory 25th Anniversary Tour.”

The Revival is an electrifying production created by master Djembe drummer and choreographer Yao Ababio, founder and Artistic Director of the company. Originally developed in 2010, the production has been newly reimagined for the company’s milestone anniversary. The newly revamped production features a live ensemble of six dancers, four master drummers, a balafon player, and a guitarist, new costume designs by Nigerian fashion designer Wunmi of the WowWow by Wunmi line, a live griot performance by Kweku Amankwa Hunter, and a multi-media retrospective tracing the evolution of African diaspora arts in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy community.

It depicts the transformative influences of West African culture, music, and dance from Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Haiti, and Trinidad on the urban cultural landscape in Bed-Stuy during the early 90s to the present. It also fuses traditional and contemporary music genres and dance styles including Folklore, Djembe, Afrobeat, Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B.

The Revival national concert tour was launched in Brooklyn, NY in February in support of Black History month and has included performances in several major markets across the country including Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Charleston, and the legendary annual Memorial Day Weekend DanceAfrica Festival held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, NY, among others.

The Revival's November 6 performance will take place at the Filcom Center, Casamina & Flores Ballrooms (94-428 Mokuola Street, Suite 302, Waipahu, HI) at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for the performance in Waipahu, click on this link: 32395.encoreticketing.com.

For more information about Asase Yaa, you can view their website https://www.asaseyaaent.org/ or contact via email at, info@asaseyaaent.org, Kofi Osei Williams Tel: (646) 468-0710.

Breanna Walther
Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation
breanna.suden@sudenpr.com